Demons Like It Hot (25 page)

He turned to Rafe. “We’ve got several matters to discuss and not much time. Let’s have a seat.”

Rafe offered a brusque nod and allowed Lucy to choose where she wanted to sit. What a gentleman. At least some demons were. Lucy scooted out one of the guest chairs. Rafe pulled out the other, leaving Serah and Matthias the love seat. How ironic.

“Sorry, I don’t particularly care for couches,” Lucy said, folding her legs beneath her.

With an arch to her brow, Serah took a seat, scooting as close to the side. “Why do I find that surprising?”

Matthias, thankfully did the same. With a soft grunt, he stretched his legs.

“Enough,” Rafe barked. “So what was this incident Matthias told me about earlier?”

“Incident? What incident?” Serah feigned bemusement. From the piercing glares from both Lucy and Rafe, she’d failed miserably. Not surprising at all. “Oh! That incident. It was nothing.”

“You were almost killed,” Matthias gritted out. “How is that nothing?”

“The woman driving the car was not a demon. Her kid, however…”

“You know how I hate it when you avoid answering our questions, Serah.” Lucy leaned in, her greenish-gold eyes flaring.

That look said it all. They were serious. And the only way to get out of this mess was to tell the truth.

“Fine. Somehow an Infernati demon managed to change the timing of the light at the corner of A-Line Road and Lover’s Lane. I ran a red light and was almost sideswiped.”

“Bloody hell,” Rafe growled. “This is worse than we thought.”

“How so?”

Matthias blew out a deep breath. “I didn’t want to alarm you until we had all the facts.”

“What. Is. It?” Serah gritted out.

“Some of the Infernati demons have the ability to manipulate electricity.”

Jeez, was there any part of human life not in danger of demons?
This grew deeper by the second. “Seriously? What’s next? Water Demons?”

“Does this really surprise you? The Infernati will use any means to infiltrate human civilization.”

Matthias nodded. “It doesn’t help that they have human minions ready to do their bidding.”

Rafe sucked in a deep breath. “Any person can be a minion, even someone you’ve trusted for years.”

Matthias moved closer to her and took her hand in his. His grip was strong, protective. “Are you absolutely sure you can trust these people?”

She’d known Edie for almost two years. She was a blessing in disguise. When her Nonni died, Serah didn’t know if she could manage the business on her own. She struggled to make ends meet. She was about to sell when Edie literally ended up on her doorstep. With her dazzling red hair and vibrant attire and personality, she was just what Serah needed. How could she not trust her? So her accent was a little off. So what? She was an excellent cook. The fondue was just the icing on the cake where Edie was concerned.

Daniel, on the other hand, was kind and sweet. A perfect gentleman. He seemed honest and sincere. And his aura seemed clean as well. He couldn’t be a minion. The Infernati weren’t that good. Were they? God, she hated all this conflict.

Serah turned to face Matthias. Even though his eyes were dark, they sparked. Despite her inner, practical self telling her to beware, she felt at ease. Emotions conflicted with each other. Wasn’t that what the Infernati were good at? Messing with people’s minds?

From all those fantasies he’d been putting in hers, maybe he wasn’t as good as he claimed. She yanked her hand from his.

“How do I know I can fully trust you?”

Matthias’s face grew stony and his body tensed. His onyx gaze continued to penetrate her mind. Serah shivered. Matthias’s facade softened slightly. “I already told you, Serah. If you can’t trust me, trust that I will do whatever is necessary to fulfill my mission.”

Serah nodded. His response eased her stress—slightly.

Matthias wished he could just sink into the sofa. He didn’t blame her for her lack of trust. It was quite obvious she had a knack for judging people. It was only a matter of time before she would remember everything. If only he could keep his hands off her. Each touch, each kiss brought her closer to the memories. Then again, maybe it was better if she knew.

It would make this mission a hell of a lot easier.

“I think we should try to get more information on Daniel,” Rafael said, breaking the awkward silence.

Matthias grumbled. “I’ve spent the entire morning researching
American
Chef
and Daniel Blackburn. Nothing. Not even any parking tickets. No credit report either.”

“He is a star, you know,” Lucia said with a grin. “Maybe Daniel Blackburn isn’t his real name.”

“There were no court documents, either, sealed or unsealed.” Matthias rested his elbows on his knees and grabbed his temples. God, he hated complications. And celebrities with stage names.

Serah shrugged. “Still doesn’t mean he’s a demon or working for them. He could just be really private.”

Private, his ass. “If he’s really private, he sure has a weird way of showing it. And I Googled ‘I went to school with Daniel Blackburn’ and nothing came up either.”

“Huh?”
How
the
hell
did
a
several-centuries-old demon know the ins and outs of Internet searches?

“There’s always someone who wants recognition, in any crowd.”

She couldn’t disagree with that. “I was referring to your super-mad computer skills, actually.”

“In my previous line of work, computer skills were a necessary evil.” Sadly, evil wasn’t always a pun either. He’d done some evil things in his life. He didn’t deserve someone as pure as Serah.

Rafael cracked his knuckles. “We need to keep a close watch on Daniel. I can set up surveillance. I have some phantoms that owe me a favor or two.”

Serah snorted in laughter. Matthias loved her laugh. He’d miss it when his mission was done and she never wanted to see him again. “Phantoms? Seriously? I would have thought ghosts would be demons too.”

“Ghosts and phantoms are spirits that never made it to judgment. They need guidance to be led to heaven, hell, or limbo.” Matthias turned to Rafael. “How soon can you have them in place?”

“About an hour, two at the most.”

“Excellent. I can stay here and monitor things as well.” Matthias drew his gaze to Lucia. “What about you? What do you plan to do, Lucia?”

“
Lucy
, damn it. I’m staying here. I don’t give a crap what Daniel or his reclusive producer has to say about it.”

“Speaking of producers, has anyone researched her?” Rafe pulled out his BlackBerry and punched some buttons.

“Not yet. I only have her name. Sally Lohman.” Matthias had been just about to enter her name into the search when Edie invaded his space earlier. “I’ll do it once we’re done here.”

“I’ll do it,” Lucy chimed in. “You need to focus on Serah.”

Matthias stifled his chuckle. If he focused on her any more than he already did, he was done for. “I will stand guard. I, too, do not give a damn what anyone has to say about it.”

“I’ll be back in two hours,” Rafe said. “Hopefully Nigel and Rupert are still at their usual haunt.”

Serah rolled her eyes. “Ghosts have weird names.”

“They are over two hundred years old.”

“Thank God I wasn’t born then.” She covered her mouth, a wide blush filling her cheeks. “No offense.”

She was so adorable when she blushed. So pure. Matthias steeled himself. She was too pure for the likes of him. “None taken.”

“None here, either. I’m used to Serah’s idiosyncrasies—Ouch! Sorry.”

Lucy removed her tennis-shoe clad foot from Rafe’s. “Don’t even say that hurt.”

“You keep getting stronger, and I won’t know what to do with you.” Rafe swept Lucy into his arms and gave her a searing kiss.

“Oh, I think you know full-well what you’d do.” She gave him a playful smack on his arm.

Matthias tried to control his frown. If only he could have such a relationship. So open and free. But he didn’t wish his baggage on his worst enemy. He scraped his fingers through his head and angled his gaze to the ceiling.

“Your excessive use of PDA is making Matt here jealous.” Serah crossed her legs and gave a sneaky smirk.

“I don’t see any portable digital assistants here.” Matthias drew his brows together, consternation filling his face.

Serah blew out a breath and shook her head. “Public displays of affection. Jeez. How can you be so knowledgeable about computers and technology, but not common terms used by humans?”

How could she read him so well? Frustration replaced his consternation. “Talking and sending messages in codes is silly. I prefer to spell out words in their entirety.”

“OMG! I N-O!” Lucy said with a wide grin.

Matthias groaned. Serah shook her head in her hands. They had more in common than he thought.

“Well, now that we’ve cleared the air, I better go hunt down those ghosts.” Rafe stood and stretched out his legs. “I think I’ll take that sofa next time.”

Matthias extended his legs, putting his arms behind his head. Human furniture wasn’t made for demons obviously. “Unfortunately, it’s no more comfortable here.”

Serah crossed her arms, a challenging expression clouding her face. “Are you telling me I should special-order my furniture from now on?”

“Just a friendly suggestion,” Rafe said. “But I’ve really got to go. See you all later.”

Serah grabbed her arms and huddled tight. Matthias would have offered her his jacket if he had one. “Something tells me I should have brought my coat. This chef jacket just doesn’t cut it when you all decide to use my office as a portal.”

“It only lasts a minute or two. Besides, it’s Michigan. Aren’t you used to the snow by now?”

“Just because I’m used to snow, doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Amen to that,” Lucy said with a chuckle.

Rafael nodded. “Good point.” He closed his eyes and held his arms up high. “Bundle up. I’m heading out. Time to head on over to Kirby Road.”

“Kirby Road?” Lucy shuddered. “Poor ghosts.”

“Yeah, you’d think spirits with such dignified names as Rupert and Nigel would choose a more stately area to haunt.”

“They hang out at the homeless shelter,” Rafe explained. “Even though they’re ghosts, they still find ways to volunteer their time.”

“Charity is charity, whether someone can see you or not, right?” Serah smiled. “I wonder if they were there when I was serving soup last weekend.”

Rafe shrugged. “Maybe they were.”

With that, Rafael closed his eyes and raised his arms high. “Portals of limbo and hell. Take me to the corner of Plainview Boulevard and Kirby Road.”

With that the winds began to swirl and kick up around them. Icy gusts wailed and whistled as the temperature in the room dropped.

Sleet and snow pummeled Serah’s face as the winds churned around them. Her curls whipped and whirled around her face. She shielded her face in a futile attempt to keep away from the snow’s violent flurry. If only he could take her in his arms to keep her warm.

Who was to say he shouldn’t? After all, it was his mission to protect her. He pushed himself through the ice and snow. He’d keep her warm. She could beat the hell out of him after the frost and ice dissipated.

He reached out and grabbed Serah. Cradling her tight to his body, he crouched over her, his back taking the wind instead of hers. Oddly enough, she didn’t resist. She relaxed in his embrace and burrowed closer. It took every fiber of restraint to stop his fingers from tangling his fingers through her sable curls. Damn, how he wanted to.

The winds dissipated. Ice and snow evaporated into a mist around them. Serah sighed softly against his chest, her hands gripping the collar of his shirt. Was she ever going to let go? Hopefully not any time soon.

“So, umm, it’s safe now, you know?”

Lucy’s words hit him in the face like a bucket full of icy water. Serah jumped back and let go of his shirt. Brushing snow from her hair, she shook her head. “Even a single
Peragrans
is bad. Lucy, you lied. How do you handle all that snow?”

“You get used to it.” She tapped her foot on the ground. “Everything evaporates in a matter of minutes.”

Matthias reached for Serah’s hand. “I’m sorry. You looked cold. I’m here for your protection, including a snowstorm in your office.”

“I appreciate it. Really, I do. Thanks, Matthias.” Shivering, she brushed a curl from her cheek. “God, that was cold.”

“As Lucy said, you’ll get used to it.”

“God, I hope so. And I pray you don’t have to do that very much while you’re here.”

At least they were making conversation. It was a start. And a nice way to at least try and break the ice again.

“If I need to—as you call it—
poof.
I’ll make sure to do it privately.”